Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Turtle Dove?

Wikipedia has this to say about the symbolism of turtle doves:

Perhaps because of these biblical references (especially the well known verse from the Song of Songs), but also because of its mournful voice and the fact that it forms strong pair bonds, Turtle Doves have become emblems of devoted love. In Renaissance Europe the Turtle Dove was envisaged as the devoted partner of the phoenix. Robert Chester's poem Love's Martyr is a sustained exploration of this symbolism. It was published along with other poems on the subject, including William Shakespeare's poem "The Phoenix and the Turtle" (turtle = turtle dove).

And the dictionary has this to say:

Its peculiar peaceful and gentle habit its often referred to in Scripture. A pair was offered in sacrifice by Mary at her purification (Luke 2:24). The pigeon and the turtle-dove were the only birds permitted to be offered in sacrifice (Lev. 1:14; 5:7; 14:22; 15:14, 29, etc.).

"Search the glades and valleys, even by sultry Jordan, at the end of March, and not a turtle-dove is to be seen. Return in the second week of April, and clouds of doves are feeding on the clovers of the plain. They overspread the whole face of the land."

The Hebrew word for dove is Yonah (2), coming from the root meaning of a moaning sound, "I moan like a dove" (Is 38: 14). This would explain the call of many species of doves. The turtle-dove (Tor in Hebrew) (3) is by far the most common of the dove species.

In Christian lore and tradition (4), the dove is usually the symbol of the Holy Spirit or "heavenly messenger," particularly found in portrayals of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary. It is also seen denoting the Holy Spirit descending on Christ at His Baptism: "He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove to alight upon Him ..." (Matt. 3: 16-17). Later on, in Matt. 10: 16, "be wary as serpents, innocent as doves," seems to imply the meaning of gentleness.

Jane Rekas

LCSW, CHt

Jane Rekas is a Licsensed Clinical Social Worker at Turtle Dove Counseling and Hood River DBT, Certified Hypnotist at Hood River Hypnosis, Reiki Master at Rekas Reiki, Astrologer at Astrological Counsel, and Seasonal Color Analyst at Expressing Your Truth.

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About Jane Rekas, LCSW, CHt

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and now work at Western Psychological and Counseling Services in Gladstone and at Seth Lewelling Elementary. I am a Transpersonal and CBT Therapist, and also a Certified Hypnotist and Certified Past Life Regression Facilitator. I am also an astrologer and Reiki Master. I'm a graduate of Reed College (BA Psychology '87) and Portland State University (MSW '90), LCSW sine '97. I work with children, teens, adults, parents, groups.